Method for forming a decorative cover for a flower pot with a sheet of material having printed and embossed patterns thereon

ABSTRACT

A decorative covering for a flower pot is formed when a sheet of material having embossed and printed patterns thereon is formed about at least a portion of the flower pot.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 13/172,956,filed Jun. 30, 2011, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser.No. 12/723,132, filed Mar. 12, 2010, now abandoned; which is acontinuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/803,962, filed May 16, 2007, nowabandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/721,368, filedNov. 25, 2003, now abandoned; which is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No.10/385,084, filed Mar. 10, 2003, now abandoned; which is a continuationof U.S. Ser. No. 10/183,786, filed Jun. 26, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No.6,564,507, issued May 20, 2003; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.10/051,828, filed Jan. 17, 2002, now abandoned; which is a continuationof U.S. Ser. No. 09/606,812, filed Jun. 28, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No.6,347,480, issued Feb. 19, 2002; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.Ser. No. 08/888,813, filed Jul. 7, 1997, now abandoned; which is adivisional of U.S. Ser. No. 08/480,657, filed Jun. 7, 1995, now U.S.Pat. No. 5,752,360, issued May 19, 1998, the contents of which arehereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) relatesgenerally to methods for wrapping floral groupings or flower potswherein the floral grouping or flower pot is wrapped with a sheet ofmaterial having a pattern embossed thereon and a pattern printedthereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sheet of material constructed in accordancewith the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s).

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the sheet of material shown in FIG. 1taken substantially along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sheet of material of FIGS. 1 and 2 showinga floral grouping disposed thereon prior to the sheet of material beingwrapped about the floral grouping.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the sheet of material of FIGS. 1-3wrapped about the floral grouping of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 4, but showing the sheet ofmaterial of FIGS. 1-3 wrapped about the floral grouping in a differentmanner as compared to that shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a sheet of material which is similar to thesheet of material shown in FIG. 1, but having a bonding materialdisposed thereon.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the sheet of material of FIG. 6wrapped about a floral grouping.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating the embossing of a pattern onthe sheets of material described herein and showing the printing of apattern on the sheets of material wherein the printed pattern is inregister with the embossed pattern.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view, similar to FIG. 8, but showing a modifiedsystem for embossing a pattern on the sheets of material describedherein and printing a pattern on the sheets of material wherein theprinted pattern is out of register with the embossed pattern.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a pot cover constructed using the sheetof material shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the pot cover of FIG. 10disposed about a flower pot having a floral grouping disposed therein.

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of another sheet of material which is similarto the sheet of material shown in FIG. 1, but having a plurality ofspots of bonding material disposed thereon.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the sheet of material of FIG.12 wrapped about a flower pot having a floral grouping disposed thereinwherein the spots of bonding material secure the sheet of material tothe flower pot.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a plant sleeve having an embossedpattern thereon.

FIG. 14 a is a partially cut away perspective view showing a plantsleeve having an embossed pattern thereon and a closed lower end.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing the plant sleeve of FIG. 14disposed about a flower pot having a floral grouping disposed therein.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a flower pot having a floralgrouping therein with a modified plant sleeve disposed about a bloom endof the floral grouping.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of a flower pot having a floralgrouping disposed therein and having a modified plant sleeve disposedabout the flower pot.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of a pad of material containing aplurality of sheets of material constructed in accordance with thepresently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s).

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a roll of material formed of sheets ofmaterial constructed in accordance with the presently disclosed andclaimed inventive concept(s) wherein the sheets of material areseparated from the roll of material by tearing along the lines ofperforations.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a roll of material formed of sheets ofmaterial constructed in accordance with the presently disclosed andclaimed inventive concept(s) wherein the sheets of material areseparated from the roll of material by a knife.

FIG. 21 is a schematic view showing a roll of material formed of sheetsof material wherein a bonding material is applied to the roll ofmaterial and the sheets of material are cut from the roll of material byway of a knife.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY DISCLOSED AND CLAIMED INVENTIVECONCEPT(S) Embodiment of FIGS. 1-5

Shown in FIGS. 1-3 is a sheet of material 10 constructed in accordancewith the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s). The sheetof material 10 may be constructed of any material which is suitable foruse with the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s). Thatis, the sheet of material 10 may be constructed of any flexible materialcapable of being wrapped about a floral grouping or flower pot. Examplesof materials from which the sheet of material 10 may be constructedinclude paper, polymeric film, metalized film, foil, and laminations andcombinations thereof. Preferably, the sheet of material 10 isconstructed of paper.

The sheet of material 10 shown in FIG. 1 is rectangular shaped, althoughthe sheet of material 10 may be any other shape, such as square,elliptical or round, or may be die cut into any shape, such as a roseshape. The sheet of material 10 has a first side 12, second side 14, afirst end 16, a second end 18, an upper surface 20 and a lower surface22 (FIG. 2).

An embossed pattern 24 is formed on at least a portion of one of theupper surface 20 and the lower surface 22 of the sheet of material 10.The embossed pattern 24 may be any one of a number of patterns such asdepictions of flowers or logos or meaningless designs, for example. Theembossed pattern 24 forms a plurality of spaced apart raised portions 26in the upper surface 20 of the sheet of material 10 (only one of theraised portions 26 is designated with the reference numeral in FIGS. 1and 2). The embossed pattern 24 also forms a plurality of correspondingdepressed portions 28 (only one of the depressed portions 28 beingdesignated with the reference numeral in FIG. 2) in the lower surface 22of the sheet of material 10. Each of the depressed portions 28corresponds to one of the raised portions 26. The embossed pattern 24may cause the raised portions 26 and the corresponding depressedportions 28 to be uniformly raised and depressed, or each of the raisedportions 26 and corresponding depressed portions 28 may include portionsraised and depressed to different heights as may be desired in aparticular application.

The embossed pattern 24 of the sheet of material 10 provides morerigidity as compared to an unembossed sheet of material, such that alighter material can serve the same purpose as compared to heaviersheets of material. Further, the embossed sheets of material 10described herein give the appearance in a roll or a stack of morematerial or volume of material being contained in such roll or stack.The embossing of the sheets of material 10 to provide the embossedpattern 24 also adds strength to the material. In addition, theembossing of the sheets of material 10 provides more absorbency persquare inch as compared to unembossed sheets of material, and thus theembossed sheets of material 10 described herein absorb more moisture orabsorb the moisture quicker. The embossed sheets of material 10 alsoprovide an insulating quality due to the air space formed by theembossed pattern 24.

In addition to the embossed pattern 24, the sheet of material 10 mayfurther include a decorative pattern 29 printed on at least a portion ofthe upper surface 20 of the sheet of material 10, the lower surface 22of the sheet of material 10 or both the upper and lower surfaces 20 and22 of the sheet of material if desired. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the decorativeprinted pattern 29 is depicted as being disposed on the lower surface 22of the sheet of material 10 and in register with the depressed portions28 of the embossed pattern 24. The decorative printed pattern 29 may bea solid color or a printed pattern comprising one or more colors. Thedecorative printed pattern 29 may be in register with the embossedpattern 26 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, or the decorative printedpattern 29 may be out of register with the embossed pattern 24, or aportion of the decorative printed pattern 29 may be in register with theembossed pattern 24 while a portion of the decorative printed pattern 29may be out of register with the embossed pattern 24. The upper surface20 or the lower surface 22 or both the upper and lower surfaces 22 and24 of the sheet of material 10 may also include a metallic finish.

In operation, the sheet of material 10 is embossed to provide theembossed pattern 24 thereon and printed to provide the printed pattern29 thereon. A floral grouping 30 (FIGS. 3 and 4) having a stem end 32and a bloom end 34 is placed on the upper surface 20 of the sheet ofmaterial 10 (as shown in FIG. 3). It should be noted that the floralgrouping 30 may be placed on the lower surface 22 of the sheet ofmaterial 10 if desired in a particular application. The sheet ofmaterial 10 then is wrapped about the floral grouping 30 to provide adecorative wrapper 36 (shown in FIG. 4) which encompasses a substantialportion of the floral grouping 30.

The decorative wrapper 36 has an upper end 38, a lower end 40 and anouter peripheral surface 39 (FIG. 4). The upper end 38 is opened and thelower end 40 is opened. At least a portion of the embossed pattern 24and at least a portion of the printed pattern 29 provided on the sheetof material 10 from which the decorative wrapper 36 is constructed arevisible on the outer peripheral surface 39 of the decorative wrapper 36.The decorative wrapper 36 encompasses a substantial portion of thefloral grouping 30 with the stem end 32 of the floral grouping 30extending through the open lower end 40 of the decorative wrapper 36.The bloom end 34 of the floral grouping 30 is exposed via the open upperend 38 of the decorative wrapper 36.

In FIG. 5, the sheet of material 10 is wrapped about the floral grouping30 in a slightly different manner as compared to that described beforewith respect to FIG. 4 to provide a modified decorative wrapper 36 a.The decorative wrapper 36 a has an upper end 38 a, a lower end 40 a andan outer peripheral surface 39 a, and at least a portion of the embossedpattern 24 and at least a portion of the printed pattern 29 disposed onthe sheet of material 10 from which the decorative wrapper 36 a isconstructed are visible on the outer peripheral surface 39 a of thedecorative wrapper 36 a.

As shown in FIG. 5, the stem end 32 of the floral grouping 30 does notextend through the lower end 40 a of the decorative wrapper 36 a, andthe bloom end 34 of the floral grouping 30 is disposed below the upperend 38 a of the decorative wrapper 36 a. The lower end 40 a of thedecorative wrapper 36 a may be closed by simply crimping portions of thesheet of material 10 adjacent the lower end 40 a together or by securingthe lower end 40 a in a closed position by tying a string or ribbon orother securing element or material about the lower end 40 a of thedecorative wrapper 36 a. The upper end 38 a of the decorative wrapper 36a may also be closed in a similar manner if desired in a particularapplication.

With either the decorative wrapper 36 or the decorative wrapper 36 a,the sheet of material 10 is wrapped about the floral grouping 30 to aposition wherein a portion of the sheet of material 10 overlaps otherportions of the sheet of material 10 to provide the decorative wrapper36 or 36 a with a substantially conically shaped configuration. Thedecorative wrapper 36 or 36 a may be secured in this wrapped positionabout the floral grouping 30 by taping the overlapping portion of thesheet of material 10 to the adjacent portions of the sheet of material10, or by bonding the overlapping portion of the sheet of material 10 tothe adjacent portions of the sheet of material 10, or by tying a ribbonor string or other binder around the decorative wrapper 36 or 36 a tosecure the sheet of material 10 in the conically shaped form of thedecorative wrapper 36 or 36 a if desired in a particular application.

“Floral grouping” as used herein means cut fresh flowers, artificialflowers, a single flower, other fresh and/or artificial plants or otherfloral materials and may include other secondary plants and/orornamentation which add to the aesthetics of the overall floralgrouping.

Embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7

Shown in FIG. 6 is a modified sheet of material 10 b which isconstructed similar to the sheet of material 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2and described in detail before, except as described herein below. Thesheet of material 10 b is provided with a first side 12 b, a second side14 b, a first end 16 b, a second end 18 b, an upper surface 20 b, alower surface 22 b (FIG. 7), an embossed pattern 24 b and a printedpattern 29 b. In FIGS. 6 and 7, the printed pattern 29 b is disposed onat least a portion of the lower surface 22 b of the sheet of material 10b, and the printed and embossed patterns 29 b and 24 b are in registerwith one another. In addition, the sheet of material 10 b also includesa bonding material 42 disposed on a portion of the upper surface 20 bthereof near the second side 14 b which extends between the first andthe second ends 16 b and 18 b of the sheet of material 10 b.

The bonding material 42 preferably is an adhesive or pressure sensitiveadhesive material. The bonding material 42 may be a cohesive material;however, in that event, a corresponding strip or spot of cohesivematerial also must be applied to the lower surface 22 b of the sheet ofmaterial 10 b to connect with the cohesive bonding material 42 on theupper surface 20 b of the sheet of material 10 b. Alternatively, thebonding material 42 may be applied to at least a portion of the lowersurface 22 b of the sheet of material 10 b.

The term “bonding material” as used herein means an adhesive, preferablya pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive. Where the bonding material42 is a cohesive, a similar cohesive material must be placed on theadjacent surface of the sheet of material 10 b for bondingly contactingand bondingly engaging with the cohesive material. The term “bondingmaterial” also includes materials which are heat sealable and, in thisinstance, the adjacent portions of the sheet of material 10 b must bebrought into contact and then heat must be applied to effect the seal.The term “bonding material” as used herein also means a heat sealinglacquer which may be applied to the sheet of material 10 b and, in thisinstance, heat also must be applied to effect the sealing. The term“bonding material” as used herein means any type of material or thingwhich can be used to effect the bonding or connecting of the twoadjacent portions of the sheet of material 10 b to effect the connectionor bonding described herein. The term “bonding material” also includeslabels, bands, ribbons, strings, tape, staples or combinations thereof.Some of the bonding materials would secure the ends of the sheet ofmaterial 10 b while other bonding materials may bind the circumferenceof a decorative wrapper 36 b formed from the sheet of material 10 b.

The sheet of material 10 b is wrapped (shown in FIG. 7) about the floralgrouping 30 to form the decorative wrapper 36 b in the same manner asdescribed before with respect to wrapping the sheet of material 10 aboutthe floral grouping 30 to form the decorative wrapper 36 as shown inFIG. 4 or the decorative wrapper 36 a as shown in FIG. 5. A portion ofthe sheet of material 10 b near the second side 14 b thereof overlapsportions of the sheet of material 10 b near the second end 18 b thereofwhen wrapped about the floral grouping 30 and the bonding material 42bondingly engages the overlapping portions of the sheet of material 10 band bondingly connects the overlapping portions of the sheet of material10 b to secure the sheet of material 10 b in the form of the decorativewrapper 36 b as shown in FIG. 7. At least a portion of the embossedpattern 24 b and at least a portion of the printed pattern 29 b arevisible on an outer peripheral surface 39 b of the decorative wrapper 36b.

Sheets of material with bonding material thereon for wrapping about afloral grouping are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637; issued May 12,1992, entitled, “Method For Wrapping A Floral Grouping”; U.S. Pat. No.5,111,638, issued May 12, 1992, entitled, “Method For Wrapping an ObjectWith A Material Having Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Thereon” and U.S.Pat. No. 5,181,364, issued Jan. 26, 1993, entitled, “Wrapping A FloralGrouping With Sheets Having Adhesive or Cohesive Material Applied” andthe descriptions in these patents are specifically incorporated hereinby reference.

Embodiment of FIG. 8

Shown in FIG. 8 schematically is a system 43 for embossing the sheet ofmaterial 10 or 10 b to provide the embossed pattern 24 or 24 b and forprinting a color or colors on the sheet of material 10 a or 10 b toprovide the printed pattern 29 or 29 b. A roll of material 44 may beconstructed of any flexible material capable of being cut into sheets ofmaterial and wrapped about a floral grouping. Preferably, the roll ofmaterial 44 is constructed of paper, polymeric film, metalized film,foil, or laminations or combinations thereof.

The roll of material 44 is rollingly supported, and one end of the rollof material 44 is passed between a pair of embossing rollers 46 and 48.The embossing roller 46 has a plurality of raised portions 50 and aplurality of depressed portions 51 (only one of the raised portions 50and one of the depressed portions 51 being designated by the referencenumerals in FIG. 8). The embossing roller 48 has a plurality ofdepressed portions 52 and a plurality of raised portions 53 (only one ofthe depressed portions 52 and one of the raised portions 53 beingdesignated by the reference numerals in FIG. 8). The depressed portions52 are arranged on the embossing roller 48 to correspond and registerwith the raised portions 50 on the embossing roller 46. In a similarmanner, the depressed portions 51 are arranged on the embossing roller46 to correspond and register with the raised portions 53 on theembossing roller 48.

An ink roller 54 is disposed near the embossing roller 46. The inkroller 54 is positioned to apply ink to the raised portions 50 of theembossing roller 46.

One end 55 of the roll of material 44 is passed between the embossingrollers 46 and 48 in the direction indicated by the arrow 56, and theembossing rollers 46 and 48 are rotated in the respective directionsindicated by the arrows 58 and 60. As the roll of material 44 is passedbetween the embossing rollers 46 and 48, the raised portions 50 of theembossing roller 46 engage the roll of material 44 and force the roll ofmaterial 44 into the corresponding depressed portion 52 of the embossingroller 48, thereby forming raised and depressed portions, such as theraised portions 26 and depressed portions 28 depicted in the sheet ofmaterial 10 (FIGS. 1-3). The ink roller 54 rotates in a directionindicated by the arrow 62 and applies ink to the raised portions 50 ofthe embossing roller 46. The raised portions 50 of the embossing roller46 having the ink thereon transfer the ink to the roll of material 44,thereby providing the printed pattern 29 by applying a color to thedepressed portions 28 of the sheet of material 10, wherein the printedpattern 29 is provided simultaneously with the forming of the raisedportions 26 and depressed portions 28 of the embossed pattern 24provided on the sheet of material 10. In this manner, the printedpattern 29 is provided in register with the embossed pattern 24.

A portion of the roll of material 44 then is passed under a knife 64.After a predetermined amount of the roll of material 44 is passed underthe knife 64, the knife 64 is moved to engage and cut the sheet ofmaterial 10 or 10 b from the roll of material 44.

The embossing rollers 46 and 48 each may be constructed of any suitablematerial capable of maintaining the raised and depressed portions 50 and51 of the embossing roller 46 and the depressed and raised portions 52and 53 of the embossing roller 48. Preferably, however, the embossingrollers 46 and 48 are constructed of a metal. In some instances, anembossing roller 48 constructed of paper may be used and, in thisinstance, it is not necessary to preform the depressed portions 52 inthe embossing roller 48 as the depressed portions 52 will somewhatautomatically be formed by the raised portions 50 of the embossingroller 46 engaging the paper embossing roller 48 and depressing theengaged portions of the paper embossing roller 48.

It should be noted that the ink roller 54 could be positioned to applyink to the depressed portions 52 of the embossing roller 48 or thecorresponding raised portions 53 on the embossing roller 48 if desiredin a particular application. Alternatively, the ink roller 54 may notinteract with either of the embossing rollers 46 and 48 and may providethe printed pattern 29 to the material by directly interacting with thematerial withdrawn from the roll of material 44, as discussed in furtherdetail below.

Embodiment of FIG. 9

Shown in FIG. 9 is a system 65 for forming the embossed pattern 24 or 24b on the respective sheets of material 10 or 10 b. The system 65 issimilar to the system 43 described hereinbefore with respect to FIG. 8,except as described herein below.

In the system 65 shown in FIG. 9, an ink roller 54 a is disposedupstream of embossing rollers 46 a and 48 a to apply a color or colorswhich provide the printed pattern 29 to the roll of material 44 prior tothe roll of material 44 being embossed by the embossing rollers 46 a and48 a to provide the embossed pattern 24. Otherwise, the system 65 shownin FIG. 9 operates in a manner similar to the system 43 hereinbeforedescribed with reference to FIG. 8.

It should be noted that the ink roller 54 a could be positioned past theembossing rollers 46 a and 48 a so that the printed pattern 29 isapplied to the sheet of material 10 or 10 b after the embossed pattern24 or 24 b has been depressed thereon by the embossing rollers 46 a and48 a. It also should be noted that an additional ink roller could beincluded for applying a second printed pattern (not shown) to theopposite surface of the sheet of material 10 or 10 b if desired in aparticular application.

By applying the printed pattern 29 prior to or following the embossingof the embossing pattern 24, the printed pattern 29 may be applied inregister with the embossed pattern 24 or out of register with theembossed pattern 24. Alternatively, a portion of the printed pattern 29may be applied in register with the embossed pattern 24, while a portionof the printed pattern 29 may be applied out of register with theembossed pattern 24.

Systems for embossing sheets of material are well known in the art, anda detailed description of such systems and the embossing roller or inkrollers used therein is not deem necessary herein.

Following application of the printed pattern 29 and the embossed pattern24 to the roll of material 44, a portion of the roll of material 44 ispassed under a knife 64 a, and the knife 64 a is moved to engage and cutthe sheet of material 10 or 10 b from the roll of material 44.

Embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11

Shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is a pot cover 66 which is formed from thesheet of material 10 shown in FIG. 1. The pot cover 66 includes a base68 having an upper end 70, a lower end 72 and an outer peripheralsurface 73. An object opening 74 is formed through the upper end 70 ofthe base 68 of the pot cover 66, and the object opening 74 extends adistance between the upper end 70 and the lower end 72 of the base 68 ofthe pot cover 66. The object opening 74 is sized to receive a pot orflower pot. A skirt 76 is formed on the upper end 70 of the base 68 ofthe pot cover 66, and the skirt 76 extends a distance outwardly from theupper end 70 of the base 68 of the pot cover 66.

At least a portion of the embossed pattern 24 provided on the sheet ofmaterial 10 from which the pot cover 66 is constructed is visible on atleast one of the outer peripheral surface 73 of the base 68 of the potcover 66 and the skirt 76 of the pot cover 66. When the sheet ofmaterial 10 from which the pot cover 66 is constructed is provided witha decorative printed pattern 29, at least a portion of the decorativeprinted pattern 29 is visible on the outer peripheral surface 73 of thebase 68 and/or the skirt 76 b of the pot cover 66.

The pot cover 66 is formed by placing the sheet of material 10 between amale die and a female die. The dies are brought together with the sheetof material 10 being disposed there between to form the sheet ofmaterial 10 into the pot cover 66. During this forming process, aplurality of overlapping folds 80 is formed in the base 68 of the potcover 66. The overlapping folds 80 extend at various and differentdistances and at various and different angles over the base 68 of thepot cover 66.

The system for forming the pot cover 66 is described in detail in U.S.Pat. No. 4,772,183, entitled, “Article Forming System”, issued Sep. 27,1988, the Specification of such patent specifically being expresslyincorporated herein by reference.

As shown in FIG. 11, a flower pot 82 is disposed in the object opening74 of the pot cover 66. The base 68 of the pot cover 66 covers asubstantial portion of an outer peripheral surface 84 of the flower pot82. The skirt 76 of the pot cover 66 extends a distance outwardly andupwardly from an upper end 86 of the flower pot 82. The flower pot 82has a floral grouping 30 c disposed therein, and the floral grouping 30c extends a distance upwardly from the upper end 86 of the flower pot82. The pot cover 66 provides a decorative covering 78 for the flowerpot 82.

Embodiment of FIGS. 12 and 13

Shown in FIG. 12 is a modified sheet of material 10 d which isconstructed similar to the sheet of material 10 shown in FIG. 1, exceptas described hereinbelow. The sheet of material 10 d has a first side 12d, a second side 14 d, a first end 16 d, a second end 18 d, an uppersurface 20 d and a lower surface 22 d. At least a portion of at leastone of the upper and lower surfaces 20 d and 22 d of the sheet ofmaterial 10 d is provided with an embossed pattern 24 d, and at least aportion of at least one of the upper and lower surfaces 20 d and 22 d ofthe sheet of material 10 d is provided with a printed pattern 29 d. InFIG. 12, the printed pattern 29 d is depicted as disposed on the lowersurface 22 d of the sheet of material 10 d and out of register with theembossed pattern 24 d.

The sheet of material 10 d also includes a plurality of spaced apartspots of bonding material 88 disposed on at least a portion of the uppersurface 20 d thereof. It should be noted that in lieu of the spots ofbonding material 88, the bonding material 88 could be applied to atleast a portion of the upper surface 20 d of the sheet of material 10 din the form of strips or any other geometric shape, and the bondingmaterial 88 may be applied only on the raised portions 26 d of theembossed pattern 24 d, or the bonding material 88 may be incorporated inthe ink applied to the upper surface 20 d of the sheet of material 10 din the form of the decorative printed pattern 29.

In FIG. 12, the embossed pattern 24 d and the printed pattern 29 d areillustrated as being out of register with one another. However, it willbe understood that the embossed pattern 24 d and the printed pattern 29d may be in register with one another, or a portion of the embossedpattern 24 d may be in register with the printed pattern 29 d and aportion of the embossed pattern 24 d may be out of register with theprinted pattern 29 d.

In operation, the flower pot 82 is placed on the upper surface 20 d ofthe sheet of material 10 d. In this position, the sheet of material 10 dis formed about the outer peripheral surface 84 of the flower pot 82(shown in FIG. 13) such that the sheet of material 10 d substantiallyencompasses and covers the outer peripheral surface 84 of the flower pot82, thereby providing a decorative covering 87 for the flower pot 82.The bonding material 88 is brought into engagement with the outerperipheral surface 84 of the flower pot 82 as the sheet of material 10 dis formed about the flower pot 82 to provide the decorative covering 87.The bonding material 88 bondingly engages the outer peripheral surface84 of the flower pot 82 so as to bondingly connect the sheet of material10 d to the outer peripheral surface 84 of the flower pot 82. As thesheet of material 10 d conforms to the shape of the outer peripheralsurface 84 of the flower pot 82, a base portion 89 of the decorativecovering 87 is formed. A portion of the sheet of material 10 d extendsoutwardly and upwardly from the upper end 86 of the flower pot 82 toform a skirt portion 91 of the decorative covering 87 formed from thesheet of material 10 d.

It also should be noted that the bonding material 88 may be applied tothe lower surface 22 d of the sheet of material 10 d. In this instance,the sheet of material 10 d would be applied to the flower pot 82 in amanner similar to that described before, except the flower pot 82 wouldbe adjacent the lower surface 22 d of the sheet of material 10 d suchthat the lower surface 22 d would be positioned adjacent the outerperipheral surface 84 of the flower pot 82.

Embodiment of FIGS. 14, 14 a, 15, 16 and 17

Shown in FIG. 14 is a sleeve 90 for a flower pot or floral grouping, thesleeve 90 constructed from the sheet of material 10 having printed andembossed patterns 29 and 24, respectively, as shown in FIG. 1 anddescribed in detail before. The sleeve 90 has an upper end 92 and alower end 94. The sleeve 90 is frusto-conically shaped and has anopening 96 extending therethrough intersecting the upper end 92 and thelower end 94 thereof.

The sleeve 90 may be constructed by taking the sheet of material 10shown in FIG. 1 and cutting the sheet of material 10 in the form of twotrapezoidally shaped sheets and then connecting the two sheets togetheralong two edges of each sheet to form the frusto-conically shaped sleeve90 shown in FIG. 14. In the alternative, two rolls of material havingthe embossed pattern 24 and the printed pattern 29 thereon may beconnected at spaced apart places to form the frusto-conically shapedsleeves 90, and then the formed frusto-conically shaped sleeves 90 maythen be separated from the combined materials. There are variouscommercially available methods for forming sleeves such as the sleeve90, and any of these commercially available methods or systems can beused to form the sleeve 90. These prior art systems for forming thesleeve 90 are well known in the art, and a detailed description of theapparatus and methods for forming the sleeve 90 is not deemed necessaryherein.

Shown in FIG. 14 a is a sleeve 90 a similar to the sleeve 90 shown inFIG. 14 and described hereinbefore, except that a lower end 94 a of thesleeve 90 a is closed, thereby forming a closed bottom 95 of the sleeve90 a. While the uses of sleeve 90 will be described in detailhereinafter, it will be understood that sleeve 90 a may be used in asimilar manner.

As shown in FIG. 15, the flower pot 82 with the floral grouping 30 cdisposed therein is disposed in the opening 96 of the sleeve 90. Theflower pot 82 is positioned near the lower end 94 of the sleeve 90, andthe sleeve 90 substantially encompasses the outer peripheral surface 84of the flower pot 82, except for a bottom 97 of the flower pot 82 whichis disposed adjacent the open lower end 94 of the sleeve 90. A portionof the sleeve 90 also encompasses and surrounds the floral grouping 30 cdisposed in the flower pot 82. Preferably, a portion of the sleeve 90extends above the bloom end 34 c of the floral grouping 30 c. The sleeve90 provides a protective and a decorative covering 99 for the flower pot82 and the floral grouping 30 c disposed therein.

While the use of the sleeve 90 to provide a decorative covering 99 forthe flower pot 82 has been described herein, it will be understood thatthe sleeve 90 may also be employed to provide a decorative covering fora floral grouping in a substantially similar manner as that describedabove in reference to providing the decorative covering 99 for theflower pot 82.

Shown in FIG. 16 is a modified sleeve 90 e which is constructed similarto the sleeve 90 shown in FIG. 14 and described in detail before, exceptthe sleeve 90 e is smaller than the sleeve 90 shown in FIG. 14 in thatthe distance between an upper end 92 e and a lower end 94 e of thesleeve 90 e is less than the distance between the upper and lower ends92 and 94 of the sleeve 90. The sleeve 90 e is positioned over andencompasses only the bloom end 34 c of the floral grouping 30 c disposedin the flower pot 82 to provide a protective and a decorative covering99 e for the bloom end 34 c of the floral grouping 30 c with the bloomend 34 c being disposed in an opening 96 e of the sleeve 90 e.

Shown in FIG. 17 is another modified sleeve 90 f which is constructedsimilar to the sleeve 90 e shown in FIG. 16, except the sleeve 90 f issized to surround and encompass the flower pot 82 rather thansurrounding the bloom end 34 c of the floral grouping 30 c disposed inthe flower pot 82. The sleeve 90 f is sized to encompass substantiallyonly the outer peripheral surface 84 of the flower pot 82 in such amanner that the floral grouping 30 c disposed in the flower pot 82 isclearly visible, thereby providing a decorative covering 99 f for theflower pot 82.

Embodiment of FIG. 18

Shown in FIG. 18 is a pad 98 of sheets of material 10, 10 b or 10 d witheach of the sheets of material 10, 10 b or 10 d being constructed in amanner like that described before with respect to FIG. 1, 6 or 12. Inthose instances where the sheets of material 10, 10 b or 10 d in the pad98 are constructed like the sheet of material 10 b or 10 d shown in FIG.6 or 12, the bonding material 42 or 88 bondingly and releasably connectseach of the sheets of material 10 b or 10 d to the adjacent sheet ofmaterial 10 b or 10 d to form the pad 98. The sheets of material 10, 10b or 10 d are disconnected or removed from the pad 98 and wrapped aboutthe floral grouping 30 or the flower pot 82 in the manner describedbefore with respect to FIGS. 1, 3-7 and 12-13. A pad of sheets ofmaterial for wrapping about floral groupings is disclosed and describedin detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,364, referred to before and expresslyincorporated herein by reference.

Embodiment of FIGS. 19-21

Shown in FIG. 19 is a roll of material 100 containing a plurality ofsheets of material, such as the sheet of material 10, 10 b or 10 d,separated by lines of perforations 102. In this embodiment, the materialis unrolled from the roll of material 100 and the sheets of material 10,10 b or 10 d are separated from the roll of material 100 by tearingalong the lines of perforations 102.

Shown in FIG. 20 is a roll of material 100 a which is constructedsimilar to the roll of material 100 shown in FIG. 19, except the roll ofmaterial 100 a does not include the lines of perforations 102. In thisembodiment, the material is unrolled from the roll of material 100 aand, after a predetermined amount of material has been unrolled from theroll of material 100 a, a knife 104 is activated or manually manipulatedto cut the material from the roll of material 100 a thereby separating asheet of material 10, 10 b or 10 d from the roll of material 100 a. Theseparated sheet of material 10, 10 b or 10 d is constructed similar tothe sheets of material hereinbefore described with reference to FIG. 1,6 or 12, for example.

Shown in FIG. 21 is another roll of material 100 b containing aplurality of sheets of material similar to the sheet of material 10, 10b or 10 d described herein before with respect to FIG. 1, 6 or 12. Theroll of material 100 b is constructed similar to the roll of material100 a shown in FIG. 20 and described in detail before. The material isunrolled from the roll of material 100 b and passed through an adhesiveapplicator 106 where a bonding material is applied to the material toform a sheet of material containing a bonding material disposed on onesurface thereof such as the sheet of material 10 b having the bondingmaterial 42 disposed on the upper surface 20 d thereof or the sheet ofmaterial 10 d having the bonding material 88 disposed on the uppersurface 20 d thereof, as described hereinbefore with reference to FIGS.6 and 12, respectively. The material further is unrolled from the rollof material 100 b and, after a predetermined amount of material has beenunrolled from the roll of material 100 b, the knife 104 is activated ormanually manipulated to cut a sheet of material, such as the sheets ofmaterial 10 b and 10 d, from the roll of material 100 b.

Changes may be made in the steps or the sequence of steps of the methodsdescribed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined in the following claims.

1. A method for providing a decorative covering for a flower potcomprising: forming a sheet of material about an outer peripheralsurface of a flower pot to provide a decorative covering, the sheet ofmaterial having a first surface, a second surface, an embossed patterndisposed on at least a portion of the first surface thereof and aprinted pattern disposed on at least a portion of the second surfacethereof, wherein the printed and embossed patterns are in register withone another, the sheet of material being selected from the groupconsisting of paper, polymeric film, metalized film, foil, laminationsthereof and combinations thereof, and wherein at least a portion of theembossed pattern and at least a portion of the printed pattern arevisible on the decorative covering; and securing the sheet of materialabout the flower pot via a bonding material.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein, in the step of securing the sheet of material about the flowerpot, the bonding material is disposed on at least a portion of the sheetof material.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein, in the step of securingthe sheet of material about the flower pot, the bonding material isdisposed on at least a portion of the flower pot.
 4. The method of claim1 wherein, in the step of securing the sheet of material about theflower pot, the bonding material is selected from the group consistingof adhesive, cohesive, bands, ribbons, strings, tape, staples andcombinations thereof.
 5. A method for providing a decorative coveringfor a flower pot comprising: unrolling material from a roll of materialuntil a predetermined amount of material has been unrolled from a rollof material, the roll of material having a first surface, a secondsurface, an embossed pattern disposed on at least a portion of the firstsurface thereof and a printed pattern disposed on at least a portion ofthe second surface thereof, wherein the printed and embossed patternsare in register with one another, the roll of material being selectedfrom the group consisting of paper, polymeric film, metalized film,foil, laminations thereof and combinations thereof; cutting the unrolledmaterial from the roll of material to provide a sheet of material havinga first surface and a second surface, and having an embossed patterndisposed on at least a portion of the first surface thereof and aprinted pattern disposed on at least a portion of the second surfacethereof; forming the sheet of material about an outer peripheral surfaceof a flower pot to provide the decorative covering wherein at least aportion of the embossed pattern and at least a portion of the printedpattern are visible on the decorative covering; and securing the sheetof material about the flower pot via a bonding material.
 6. The methodof claim 5 wherein, in the step of securing the sheet of material aboutthe flower pot, the bonding material is disposed on at least a portionof the sheet of material.
 7. The method of claim 5 wherein, in the stepof securing the sheet of material about the flower pot, the bondingmaterial is disposed on at least a portion of the flower pot.
 8. Themethod of claim 5 wherein, in the step of securing the sheet of materialabout the flower pot, the bonding material is selected from the groupconsisting of adhesive, cohesive, bands, ribbons, strings, tape, staplesand combinations thereof.
 9. A method for providing a decorativecovering for a flower pot comprising: disconnecting one sheet ofmaterial from a pad of sheets of material to provide a sheet ofmaterial, the sheets of material being bondingly connected to form thepad, each of the sheets of material having a first surface, a secondsurface, an embossed pattern disposed on at least a portion of the firstsurface thereof and a printed pattern disposed on at least a portion ofthe second surface thereof, wherein the printed and embossed patternsare in register with one another, and each of the sheets of materialbeing selected from the group consisting of paper, polymeric film,metalized film, foil, laminations thereof and combinations thereof;forming the sheet of material about an outer peripheral surface of aflower pot to provide the decorative covering wherein at least a portionof the embossed pattern and at least a portion of the printed patternare visible on the decorative covering; and securing the sheet ofmaterial about the flower pot via a bonding material.
 10. The method ofclaim 9 wherein, in the step of securing the sheet of material about theflower pot, the bonding material is disposed on at least a portion ofthe sheet of material.
 11. The method of claim 9 wherein, in the step ofsecuring the sheet of material about the flower pot, the bondingmaterial is disposed on at least a portion of the flower pot.
 12. Themethod of claim 9 wherein, in the step of securing the sheet of materialabout the flower pot, the bonding material is selected from the groupconsisting of adhesive, cohesive, bands, ribbons, strings, tape, staplesand combinations thereof.